The Heroes of
Islamic History
Tabi‘in
The Importance of Tabi‘in
َّ ُ‫م ث‬
َّ ُ‫ين يَلُؤنِى ث‬
َّ ‫خ ْي َر ُأ‬
ْ ‫ين يَلَؤنَ ُه‬
ْ ‫ين يَلُؤنَ ُه‬
َ ‫ذ‬
َ ‫ذ‬
َ ‫ذ‬
َ
‫م‬
ِ َّ‫م ال‬
ِ َّ‫م ال‬
ِ َّ‫م ِتىْ ال‬
)‫(عبدهللا ابن مسعودؓ – مسلم‬

The best of my ummah are those who are in my time (my
companions), then those who are in their time (Tabi‘in),
then those who are in their time (Taba‘ Tabi‘in).
(Abdullah bin Mas‘ud R, Muslim)
Tabi‘un
The biographies of the following Tabi‘in (those who had met
companions of the Prophet (SAW):
1.
Saeed bin al-Musayyeb
2.
Muhammad bin Muslim az-Zuhri
3.
Urwah ibn zubayr
4.
Saeed bin jubayr
5.
Mujahid ibn jabr
6.
‘Ata bin Abi Rabah
7.
'Ikrama
8.
Tawus bin Kaysan
Tabi‘un
9.Alqamah bin Qays
10.Masruq ibn al-ajda
11.Qatada
12.Hassan al basri
13.Amir al-Sha'bi
14.Ibn Jurayj
15.Ibne Nafie‘
16.Ad Dahak
Saeed bin al-Musayyeb

Born in 17 H in the reign of Umar R.

His father Musayyeb, grandfather Hazan both had become Muslims on
the Day of Victory of Makkah.

He never missed the first row in salat.

Saeed had said, “For thirty years, never did a muezzin call to prayers
except that I was already in the Mosque.”

He had pain in his eyes. He was advised to go to Al-Aqeeq and
look at its greenery to get relief. He replied, “What should I do
about attending the ‘Isha’ and Fajr prayers?”

His narrations from ‘Ali, Usman, ‘A’isha, and Abdullah bin Umar
Rs are recorded in Bukhari/Muslim. His narrations from Umar R
are recorded in other four Sahihs.

His famous students were: Az-Zuhri, Qatadah, Ibn Dinar, and
Yahya bin Saeed. Umar bin Abdul Aziz was governor of Madinah.
He used to consult Saeed before taking any decision.
His Nawafil

He used to stand whole night in tahajjud.

Quite often he used to fast, and pass the time in the mosque.

He had performed around forty Hajj.

He used to sit properly with humility and respect in order to narrate a hadith.

During his illness, people used to hold him in sitting position to learn hadith.
Status in Knowledge

He had married a daughter of Abu Huraira R. He had learnt hadith
from him. He himself became a great muhaddith of Madinah.

‘Ata bin Abi Rabah in Makkah, Hasan Basri in Basrah, Makhul in Syria,
Nakha‘ii in Kufa, and Sa’ eed in Madinah were fuqha’ of the highest
level.

Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal used to regard his mursal hadith firm and
authentic.

Imam Shafi‘I used to regard his mursal hadith hasan.

Yahya bin Ma‘een used to regard him a greater faqih than Hasan Basri.

According to an opinion, after the four Abdullah’s, Saeed got the title
of Faqih in Madinah.
Tortures and Tribulations

Abdullah ibn Zubair R sent Jabir bin Aswad to Madinah to seek oath of
fealty from Saeed. Saeed refused to give his oath, saying that unless the
whole ummah agrees upon him, he would not submit.

Jabir flogged him fifty times on his refusal, but he did not budge.

Jabir had four wives. He divorced one of them, and married another
one. Saeed gave a fatwa against this marriage, saying that Jabir had
committed a haram act by marrying a fifth time, while his divorced
wife was still in ‘iddah. Jabir punished him by flogging, but he did not
budge.

Once Abdul Malik bin Marwan came to Medina. He sent for a mufti to
consult on some of his problem. Saeed refused to go to the caliph,
saying, “The caliph has no need to get from me; and I have no need
to go to him.” The caliph again sent for him, but he did not obey the
order. He was later, given forty lashes.

Once, a caliph sought an advice from him. The caliph said, “When I
do some good deed, I do not feel happy; and when I commit some evil
deed, I do not feel any sadness.”
Saeed replied, “Your heart is completely dead.”

Saeed was asked to pledge his allegiance to Walid and Sulaiman both,
he refused. He was given one hundred lashes.

Once Walid bin Abdul Malik wanted to make an extension of the
Prophet’s Mosque. He came to visit the Mosque. All the people were
asked to vacate the Mosque.
Saeed refused to vacate his place. The caliph came to him, enquired
about him, greeted salam to him, and continued his inspection.
The Case of His Daughter

Saeed had a beautiful daughter. Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marwan
proposed to marry his wali ‘ahd Walid with her. Saeed declined the
proposal. He was given forty lashes on his refusal. But, he married his
daughter to one of his poor student Abu Wada‘ah in the mosque. He
himself took his daughter to her husband’s house.

Someone asked him the reason of denial.

He explained his decision, thus: “Listen! May Allah guide you to the
right path. Children are trust of Allah. For her salvation, I have
selected a kind, religious, and righteous young man who will try to
save himself as well as her from the fire. This way she will be safe
from the fitnah of the world. Had I married her to a prince, she would
have been busy among her maids and pomp of kingdom. Who would
have raised her for salat and tahajjud?”
Some of His Fatwas
1. “If a man swears that he would not talk to his wife for a day or a
month, it is Eela.
However, if he swears that he would not talk to her, but touches her,
it is not Eela. If this situation continues for more than four months,
then, he has divorced her.”
2. “The husband of a divorced woman has to pay for her rented
house till the ‘iddah.”
3. “A person can enter the toilet or in janabah condition with a ring
in which Allah’s name is written.”
4. Saeed said that there is no zakat on ornaments which are in use.
5. Old men and pregnant women should feed poor persons in lieu of
their fasts.
6. Saeed asked a man who had married a woman while in ihram to
separate from her.
7. Saeed had decreed that one can charge fees for teaching the
Qur’an.
8. Saeed had decreed that an irrevocably divorced woman can be
remarried to her first husband without consuming her marriage with
the second husband.
Dreams Interpretation
1. Abdullah bin Zubair R saw that he had laid Abdul Malik bin
Marwan on the ground and had driven four pegs in his back. Saeed said
that Abdul Malik would kill Ibn Zubair.
2. Hasan bin ‘Ali R told Saeed that he saw written “He is Allah, One”
on his forehead.
Saeed told him that the time of his death was near. Hasan R died
the same year.
3. Saeed had said, “Seeing dates in a dream is always an omen of
provision.”
4. Someone asked him, “I saw my teeth fell off into my hands.”
Saeed said, “You are going to outlive some of your people younger
than you.”
5. Saeed had said, “If a person sees that he was in shackles it means
he would remain steadfast in religion.”
Muhammad bin Muslim az-Zuhri

Known as az-Zuhri or Ibn Shihab.

Az-Zuhri was born in the time of M‘uawiyyah, and lived during the
times of ten successive caliphs.

Az-Zuhri was a student of Saeed ibn Musayyab for eight years.

Az-Zuhri traveled a lot between Syria, Egypt and Hijaz to acquire
knowledge.

He memorized the Qur’an in eighty days.

He would never attend a teacher without a slate or script to write.

To memorize a hadith, he would wake up his maid and read the hadith to
her or would go to Bedouins to teach them.

He learnt hadith from famous scholars of his time, in addition to
eight years with Saeed bin Musayyab. Some of those teachers
were:
Sahl ibn S‘ad R, Anas bin Malik R, ‘Ali bin Husain, Urwa bin
Zubayr.

He used to tell youth of his time, “Do not underestimate
yourselves because of young age, Umar R would invite youth and
consult them.”

He had very sharp memory: He had narrated to his teacher
Saeed al-Musayyab all the instructions of two large scrolls of
admonition of caliph Abdul Malik to the people of Madinah.

“I have never seen any one so precise in his narration of hadith
as az-Zuhri,” said ‘Amr bin Dinar.

“The first person to record knowledge is Ibn Shihab,” said
Imam Malik, “ and on the day of his death, his un-published
material was carried on a mule.”

Once, he dictated four hundred hadith to a scribe of Hisham.
The script got lost. He re-dictated the same ahadith. Later, the
lost script was found and compared with the new one. Not a
single discrepancy was found between the two.

Umar bin Abdul Aziz said about az-Zuhri, “Whatever az-Zuhri
narrated to you from others, hold fast to it. But whatever he
tells you of his own opinion, cast it away.”

His maraseel were treated as the worst kind by some great
scholars such as Yahya al-Qattani, Imam Shafi‘i, etc.

Az-Zuhri did not mind changing the order of wordings in hadith,
as long as the meaning was kept intact.
Some of his Fatwas
“As long as the dead animal in a pond did not change the taste or odor of its
water, the water is pure.”

“The ablution is weighed; therefore, the use of towel to dry it is disliked.”

“The ransom money of Muslims and non-Muslims in a Muslim country are
same.”

“If a person vowed to do something forbidden by Allah, he should fulfill
his vow with doing some righteous act.”

“A sorcerer should be killed if he is a Muslim. However, if he is a nonMuslim, he should not be killed.”
His Relations with Rulers

Though, Az-Zuhri used to have good relations with Umayyad rulers, he
would never hesitate to correct their views or attitude. Once, Walid
bin Abdul Malik recited the following verse:
َّ
َّ
ُ ‫ظي‬
ُ ‫م لَ ُه َع َذ‬
ْ ‫ى كِ ْب َر ُه ِم ْن ُه‬
)11 ‫م (النور‬
ِ ‫اب َع‬
ٰ ‫وَال ِذى تَوَل‬
and attributed it to ‘Ali R, but az-Zuhri told him that it was about
Abdullah ibn Ubayy.

Walid got angry with him and threatened to kill him when he
got power. Az-Zuhri told him that Allah would not give a fool
like Walid power over him.

Walid, then, sent his men to his garden of dates who had cut
all its trees and burnt down his house.

Az-Zuhri complained to Hisham and demanded the removal of
Walid from his succession. Hisham only compensated his loss.
Urwah ibn zubayr
 He was the son of Asma bint Abi Bakr and Zubayr ibn al-Awwam,
the brother of Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr
 He devoted himself to the study of fiqh and hadith and had the
greatest knowledge of hadiths narrated from Aishah.
 He said, "Before Aishah died, I saw that I had become one of four
authorities. I said, 'If she dies, there will be no hadith which will be
lost from those she knows. I have memorized all of them.“
 He also learnt from Ali bin Abi Talib, Abdur-Rahman bin Awf, Zaid
bin Thabit, Abu Ayub Al-Ansari and many other sahaba.
 He was one of the 7 jurists of Medina.
 He is also known to have written one of the first writings in the area
of the biography of the Prophet Muhammad, known as the Tract of
Seerah.
 He would read a fourth of the Quran from a mushaf in the day and
then he would repeat that by heart in his night prayers. And it is not
known that he left this practice from his early youth (around the age
of 14) to the day he died (at the age of 71)
Saeed bin jubayr
 Student of Abdullah bin Abbass(RA) as well as Abdullah bin Umar,
Abdullah bin Zubair, Saeed Khudri, Abu Mossa Ashaari, Abu Huraira
and Anas bin Malik(RA)
 He was one of the companions of Imam Zaynul Abideen, Ali bin alHusayn
 He was famous for explaining Tafseer according to different Qiraah.
 From him are recorded by Imams Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-
Nasa'i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maja, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Imam
Malik ibn Anas. Sa'id narrates 147 traditions in Sahih Bukhari and 78
in Sahih Muslim.
 Ibn Abi Mughera said that when people of Kufa visit Ibn Abbas they
used to ask him for Fatwa, he used to say them: "Isn't Sa'id Ibn
Jubayr among you?".
 Amro Ibn Maymoon said that his father said that Sa'id Ibn Jubayr
passed away and every one on the earth attained his knowledge.
 Abu Al-Qasem Al-Tabari said: "He is a reliable Imam and hujjah on
Muslims“
 Ibn Hibbaan said: "He was jurist, worshiper, righteous and pious“
 He was killed by Hajaj bin Yusuf( Dialogues at time of death)
Mujahid ibn jabr
 Born in Makkah in the reign of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, freed slave of
Saib.
 Student of Abdullah bin Abbas(RA). Narrated Ahadith from Saad
bin Abi Waqas, Abdullah bin Umar, Abu Saeed Khudri, Abdullah bin
Amro bin Al Aas, Abu Huraira, Ali(ra), Ayesha(ra), Javeria (RA),
Umm Salma(ra), Umm Hani(RA)
 Two of the Qira’at, reading styles of the Qur’an, was narrated from
Mujahid, those two readings being from Ibn Kathir (Makki reading)
and Abu ‘Amr (Basri reading)
 He is reported to have read the Qur’an under Ibn Abbas more than
thirty times, including three times when he stopped after reading
each verse to ask him about its meaning.
 Imam Nawawi Said “ If Mujahid’s Tafseer is infront of you, then its
enough for you“
 Ibn Taimiya said,“Imam Shafai and Imam Bukhari relies on His Tafseer”
 Mujahid was one of the main sources for later commentators on the
Qur’an. The most famous one, Ibn Jareer Al-Tabari, who wrote a
commentary in 14 large volumes, includes more than 700 quotations
from Mujahid. He apparently wrote his commentary and taught it to his
students. It is reported that his commentary was written in eight
booklets.
Ata bin Abi Rabah

‘Ata bin Rabah was a Yemeni Habshi slave of a noble woman of Makkah.

He had divided his time into three parts: In the first part he used to
serve her mistress. He used to spend his second part in Allah’s worship.
The third part was completely devoted to acquire knowledge.

Seeing his interest in acquiring knowledge, his mistress set him free.

After being free, he started dwelling in the Haram of Makkah. The
historians write that for twenty years, ‘Ata used to dwell in Haram
on his jute mat.

He acquired knowledge from all the following companions of the Prophet
(Peace be upon him):Abu Hurayrah R, Abdullah bin Umar R, Abdullah bin
Abbas R, and Abdullah bin Zubayr R.

Abdullah bin Umar R used to tell the people of Makkah that they had
no need of any other learned man while ‘Ata bin Abi Rabah was
among them.

Once, caliph Sulaiman bin Abdul Malik came to perform
Umrah; he asked about the chief scholar of the Haram; he
talked to him, and requested him for Du’a. Sulaiman
introduced him to his princes:
“Shaykh ‘Ata ibn Abi Rabah is the chief student of Abdullah bin
Abbas R; the greatest scholar of his time; and the chief Mufti of
Makkah.”

He continued his advice to his sons: “Acquire
knowledge. The knowledge raises a slave to a status
higher than king. He is remembered after his death. He
wins prayers and good wills of all the people. His life in
the Hereafter is exalted.”

He used to live a very simple life. The caliphs used to send him
a lot of money and goods, but he would distribute all of them
among the needy people.

The caliphs used to invite him to Damascus, but he used to
decline the invitation, saying that people should not live with
them; otherwise, they would destroy their religion. However,
once, he traveled alone to visit the caliph Hisham bin Abdul
Malik.
Dialogue with Hisham
“Marhaba, Marhaba, Ya Shaykh! What can I do for you?”
“Approve expenses for the people of Haramayn. They are the
neighbors of Allah and The Prophet.”
“Done! What else?”
“Approve regular expenses for the families of your forces who are
on the borders.”
“Done! What else?”
“Reduce the taxes of non-Muslims who live in your domain to keep them
away from your enemies.”
“Done! What else?”
“Fear Allah. You were born alone. You would be alone at the time of
Accounting. None would help you. Deeds are here, and rewards are
there in the Hereafter.”
The caliph started crying.
‘Ata bin Rabah, then, left the palace. He was presented a purse of
money.
But saying that,
َّ
ْ َ‫ج ٍر إِ ْن أ‬
ْ َ‫ن أ‬
ْ ‫ه ِم‬
ْ ‫س َئلُ ُك‬
ْ َ‫َومَآ أ‬
)108 ‫يينَ ○ (الشاراء‬
ِ َ‫ب ْال َاَل‬
ِ ‫ى َر‬
ِ ‫م َعلَي‬
ٰ َ‫ج ِريَ إَِّل َعل‬
he returned the purse to the caliph, and left the city for Makkah, without
taking even a glass of drink.
Others’ Opinions about Him
1. Ibn Hajar ‘Asqalani, “’Ata was final word in the domain of
Knowledge and Fiqh.”
2. An-Nawavi, “He was the Chief Mufti of Makkah. He was much
higher than other Imams.”
3. Ibn Hanbal, “’Ata was one of the beloved of Allah.”
4. Awza‘ee, “’Ata was the most favored person of the people on
the earth”.
Dars-e-Hadith
He never allowed people to talk during his dars-e-hadith. Once, he
expelled a man from his dars because of his talk.
The following renowned persons used to attend his dars:
Abu Hanifa, Awza‘ee, Az-Zuhri, Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Ishaq, ‘Amash,
etc.

He used to perform Hajj every year. A naquib, appointed by the
caliphate, used to announce, during Hajj seasons, that none
except ‘Ata bin Rabah is authorized to teach Hajj rites to
people.

He used to pass his spare time alone. He used to avoid needless
talking to people.

All six Sahih Books have his narrations.

He died in Makkah 114 H.
Ikrama Maula bin Abbas
 He was freed slave of Ibne Abbas
 Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood and Nissai have narrated Hadith from
him.
 He narrated Hadith from Jabir bin Abdullah, Hassan bin Ali, Abdullah
bin Umar, Ali bin Talib, Abu Saeed Khudri, Abu Huraira, Ayesha RA,
Umm Ammara
 He said I spent 40 years in learning knowledge of Deen.
Tawus ibn Kaysan
 He was a Persian. He was a great tabi'i who met over 50 companions.
 He performed the hajj forty times and narrated some of the
whispered prayers of Imām Zayn al-'Ābidin.
 Hadith from him are recorded by Muhammad al-Bukhari (85 traditions),
Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (78 traditions), al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, Abu Dawood,
Ibn Majah, Ahmad ibn Hanbal
 Tawus was the main teacher of Umar ibn Abdul Aziz
Alqamah bin Qays

Born while the Prophet (SAW) was alive.

Raised during the times of Guided Caliphs.

He has narrated hadiths from Umar R, ‘Ali R, Usman R, Sa‘d ibn Abi
Waqas R, Salman Farsi R, Abu Ayyub Ansari R, Hudhayfa Yaman R.

He studies Quran, Hadith and Fiqh from Abdllah bin Mas‘ud R.

‘Alqamah was just like Abdullah bin Mas‘ud in conduct and
character. And Ibn Mas‘ud was just like the Prophet (Peace be
upon him) in his conduct.

He used to finish the Qur’an in six days.

Once, he continued going round the Ka‘bah whole night.

‘Alqamah’s memory was remarkable. Whatever, he heard
once would always be able to recall. He had memorized all
what he had learnt from Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud R.

In fiqh, he had acquired the status of mujtahid.

Even some of the companions of the Prophet (Peace be upon
him) used to visit him to learn hadiths from him.

He had the honor of participating in the overseas Jihad in 32 H
with M‘uawiyyah R. It was the same Jihad about which the
Prophet (SAW) had said, “All those who participate in the first
overseas Jihad would be forgiven.”

He hated to meet high officials, saying they would decrease his
good deeds.

He died in 62 H. He advised people not to publicize his death
and burry him quickly.

Hafiz Dhahabi: He was a faqih and imam.

‘Allama Nawavi: He was a faqih of a high status.

Ibn Sa‘d: He knew a large number of ahadith.

Abu Tibyan: I have myself seen many companions asking him about their
problems.
Masruq ibn al-ajda
 He was among the many students of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud.
 He is said to have fought on the side of caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib
against the Kharijites.
 He has narrated Hadith from Hudhaifa bin Yaman, Khalid bin
Walid, Saad bin abi Waqqas, Umar bin Khattab, Abu Bakr,
Abu Darda, Abu Musa Ashari, Ayesha RA, Habab bin Art.
 His narrated Hadith are part of all six Authentic Hadith Books.
 He was one of the teachers of Imam Abu Hanifa.
Qatada
 He was one of narrator of all six authentic Ahadith books.
 He was blind
 Student of Ibne Masud along with Saeed bin Musayyab, Ibne
Sirren, Nafai ibn Maula, Abdullah bin Umar

He was expert in Arabic lughat and poetry.
Hassan al basri
 He was the son of Yasar the slave of Zayd ibn Thabit al-Ansari. His
mother Umm ul-Hasan was a slave woman of Umm Salamah, the
wife of the Prophet SAW.
 Umm Salamah had breast-feed him for some time.
 He met around 120 companions of Prophet SAW.
 Student of Abdullah bin Msud and Ubbay bin Kaab.
 He was a close friend of Caliph, `Umar Ibn `Abdul-`Azeez
Abu Amir al Sha’bi
 Born during the caliphate of Umar RA.
 Famous teacher of Imam Abu Hanifa.
 He met around 500 Companions of the prophet SAW.
 He narrated from 48 Sahabah.
 He possessed a phenomenal memory and is reported to have said
”I have not written on paper up to this day, nor has a person
narrated to me a hadith ever except, that I memorized it and nor, is
it my preference that he repeats it to me”.
Ibn Jurayj --- His teacher was Ata bin Rabah. He narrate many
Israliyat.
Ibne Nafie‘ --- Student of Ibne Umar RA
He was part of the famous authentic chain of narrators according
to Bukhari (Malik from Nafie’ from Ibn ‘Umar). He has narrated from
several companions. He has narrations in all 6 authentic books.
Ibn Sirin ---- Muhammad bin Sirin was born during the caliphate of
`Uthman bin `Affan. His father was a freed slave who belonged to
the Companion Anas bin Malik. His mother Safiyah was freed salve
from Abu Bakr.
Ad Dahak ----- Tafsir scholar migrated from kufa to Khorasan
during governor ship of Al Hajjaj. He established a large school
near Balkh where he imparted free education to 3000 children